roger_johnson

Mike Helms and Wendell Holmes did a winter climb of the big face back in the late 70s or early 80s.

You can catch the interview today on TVW at 12:30 or listen to it anytime on authors

What about the Harmon in T-town? Great beer, good food, and supports the climbing and skiing community and has pictures of Mtns on the walls.

You ask about a spring/summer boot good for crampons and glaciers and thn alpine rock. My recommendation is the regular Trango, no insulation needed. Insulation just adds bulk, weight and something else to dry out. I've used the Trango a lot, very comfortable for approach trails, supportive for steep dirt, heather, scree and a great edging, jamming and friction boot. I love it.

the elephant is great!

I have known JY since the seventies when he and I and a few others worked long and hard on the construction of SPIRE rock. Actually it might have been the early 80s. So easy to slip a decade... JY was and is a very talented climber and is always looking for new rts. You may only hear BS coming from JY because of your lack of knowledge of climbing history. Just the same way I thought Walter Bonatti was a BS master until I knew the full story. His exploits were a full measure beyond the accepted limits of climbing. I'm not sayin JY is another WB, but don't be so quick to dismiss JY as a BS master.

We went into the South side of Augusta in the early 70s and got a couple thousand feet up before the lack if good rock (tons of loose stuff everywhere) dictated a retreat. Of coarse, the avalanche sweeping our gear and ourselves away sped the descent up. Or is it sped our descent down? Very happy that JT is down and recovering!

keyes pk?

Name those peaks! Or, is the one on the right a new Moss tent design? Do I spot a new route up the shinny ice face on the left? Avy territory in the rift between the peaks.

The winner is not a new entry. This incident happend many years ago. I first heard about it in a book that is at least 5 years old.

I think the climber is Fred Stanley...? This and a couple others were on the walls of Sheltons Cafe in L-worth, Freds coffee place. He was "fond" of the owner, Maxine. The real controversy at Castle was the logging of Loggers Ledge by climbers. Before that it was a bush wack to the top of Jello and the moss and dirt fest to the top.

Ditto Dru: "chop chop".

WOW! Sounds like Specialed has a deep seated problem with"hippie-ass" ways. There is noting wrong with tying slings, sewn slings are just another way for corporate greed to get your money. Kind of like all those versions of SUVs, its just transportation for Gods sake. Sure sleek design and a small improvement in strength really do not improve the usefulness of the q-draws. We used to call them hero loops, they could be tied around shallow pins or made into a q-draw. Because they are no longer called hero loops doesn't make them any less useful. Because they came from the "hippie-ass" era doesn't make them any less useful. "Friends" are a product of that era, "hippie-ass pieces of shit" you say? Try not to let your prejudices rule your life.

I was in country in the late sixties and did some climbing in the Highlands near Kontum and Bien Het. Pretty good rock but not huge,had to solo everything, no gear but the motivation to keep moving was high. There was a little rock climbing on some hill tops near Pleiku and AnKay Pass. It has been so long ago my spelling is fuzzy...

I've been in the Ruth Gorge and can say that a top end of WI 4 and 5.8 is pretty low for the mts in that area. Might have more to choose from in another range. Just a thought.... Another thought- It is an incredable place!! Worth the trip! Skiing down glacier towards Mt. Johnson, past the East face of Barille is like nothing else. You could pioneer many new lines on the peaks below Mooses Tooth. [ 03-29-2002: Message edited by: roger johnson ]

I'm sorry you think Bruce's Boulder is a big wall. Most people just rap down at the end of the day and jug back up the next. Maybe you could get one or more of those impressionable mountie chickz to head up the big stone with you.

When you add meat to your glops you then need to wash the pot or run the risk of "digestive problems" later in the trip. If you boil water later for a hot drink you can incorporate the glop flavor into the drink or slosh the water around in the pot to clean it out a little. Skip cooked meals in a pot and do everyting in your cup. Boil water for drinks and food in the pot, it stays clean and your cup gets rinsed with every hot drink. You can use freeze dried rice with cheese and flavors or instant mashed potatoes with dried tofu with flavors. Eat Tuna straight out of the can or pouch. Go with instant rice and protien bars. of course, if you are backpacking, the menu can be gourmet and the cooking and cleanup increases dramatically.

I've used an alcohol stove for years. A small brass affair with a tight screw on lid. When full the stove will burn for about a half hour, enough for a week end of warm drinks. When heating water just plop the lid on it to snuff the flames and retain unburned fuel. It is about the size of a small tuna can.

What is this noise about a heavy pack? We are talking about bivies. No camping, a jacket, hat, food, maybe a bivi sac, mayby a tiny stove and tiny pot(doubles as cup and bowl). That's it. Sit or lay on the gear and rucksac. Go light. Yes it is more that shorts, harness, shoes and a rack and rope but not much.

I've read many times on CC.com that bivys are someting to be avoided at all costs; that "bivouac is French for mistake" and that to bivy, in some way, implies that you are a gumby... To answer that I quote the great French guide and philospher, Gaston Rebuffat. "The man who climbs only in good weather, starting from huts and never bivouacking, appreciates the splendor of the mountains but not their mystery, the dark if their night, the depth of their sky above...Some mountaineers are proud of having done all of their climbs without a bivouac. How much they have missed! And the same applies to those who enjoy only rock climbing or only the ice climbs, only the ridges or faces. We should refuse none of the 1001 joys the mountains offer us at every turn. We should brush nothing aside, set no restrictions. We should experience hunger and thurst, be able to go fast, but also know how to go slowly and to contemplate. Variety is the spice of life." from Starlight and Storm

camp Muir?

Todd Bibler got his start here in Tacoma. He was a student at UPS and did some sewing on custom gear. He made really nice, lightweight alpine harnesses and his small two man tents. He sold them through Northwest Mtn. Supply in downtown Tac. He did all this without liability insurance! Whn the legal world started seeing climbing as an untapped source of $ he had to stop. Then Bibler moved to Boulder, started the business again, it flourished and was swallowed. At least that is how I recall one companies history...

Many years ago I made a concerted effor to climb all the routes on Chimney. My favorite was the East face direct. From Pete lake, up to the large, broad ridge south of the glacier, down off the ridge onto the glacier, up the icefall and onto the face below the summit, follow obvious weakness to top. (sound like Becky?) Day one to bivy below icefall, day two, to top and out. Rock quality was fine. Not clean Yos. granite but for the central Cascades, it was good. Pro was 3/4 angles and KBs.(pre-clean era) Used a lot of slings on horns and flakes I think I recall...

Last night in Tacoma at Backpackers Supply "The Bird" gave a "private" slide show. "Private" because it was very poorly attended; one of the greatest Amerian climbers of all time and he only had about 25 people attend!! He recounted his 1981 epic on the East face of Mooses Tooth with Mugs Stump. Then he showed slides of his 2001 climb on the same face. The routes joined up at about the 2/3 height. 1981 was in March, lots of snow and ice. The 2001 was in summer with lots of snow. The rock has been weathered to beyond useful or reliable but they climbed anyway... Bridwell is truely a hard man, knows the risks and stays in control and finishes climbs; very seldom bails. A great climber.

I got thru with that address.